Our team and mission

This position is based at the European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC) – Noordwijk, Netherlands

Under the direct authority of the Head of the Mechanical Department, the Head of the Propulsion, Aerothermodynamics, and Flight Vehicles Engineering Division is responsible for the technical and strategic management of all areas related to chemical, electric and advanced propulsion, fluid mechanics and flight vehicles engineering.

In particular, the Division covers the following domains and responsibilities:

• Providing technical expertise in propulsion, fluid mechanics, aerothermodynamics and flight vehicle engineering (e. g. propulsion systems and components, spacecraft platforms, vehicles subsystems, ground and flying test benches, technology demonstrations, etc.);
• Fostering multidisciplinary activities, with the emphasis on innovative cross-cutting concepts and system architectures in interaction with other technical fields (e. g. thermal, structure, power, guidance, navigation and control);
• Maintenance and Operation of the ESA Propulsion and Fluid Mechanics Laboratories;
• Developing and maintaining MDO / /CFD simulation tools, including HPC for Project support, independent x-check analysis and R&D activities;
• Establishing and implementing standards in the propulsion and fluid mechanics domain
• Providing the focal points to Project teams in architecture design, analysis and technical assessment of space transportation propulsion systems and spacecraft platforms, covering expendable vehicle, orbital station keeping, manoeuvring and transfer platforms, (re)-entry, landing and reusable vehicles, and other key enabling capabilities for space logistics, in close coordination with the Mechanical, Thermal and Propulsion Engineering Architects.

Candidates interested are encouraged to visit the ESA website: http://www.esa.int

Field(s) of activity for the internship

Topic of the internship: Chemical Propulsion test practices

You shall have responsibility for investigating and reporting on the best practices for chemical propulsion testing in Europe. As part of this you shall identify, contact and familiarize your self with hot-fire, chemical propulsion, test facilities and their operational standards and techniques within the member states. These elements shall include, at least, the following:

1. Vacuum system operation;
2. Thrust measurement;
3. Propellant management: storage feeding and control;
4. Propellant mass flow measurement: steady state and transient (pulse mode);
5. Calibration methodology;
6. Facility instrumentation approach;
7. Test article instrumentation;
8. Data acquisition methodology: rates and channels;
9. Any test article interface issues.

The basic facilities information, status and contact details shall be used to update ESA’s database. It will be released to European industry. A best practices report shall be generated that will capture the various facility approaches to testing. This shall be an ESA internal only document to support ESA development activities. It shall also be used to generate requirements for the ESA facilities in development. The database survey can then be extended to other areas such us components catalog as relevant.

A general survey of facility stakeholders shall be conducted to asses their specific driving needs with regards to these best practices. 

Behavioural competencies

Result Orientation
Operational Efficiency
Fostering Cooperation
Relationship Management
Continuous Improvement
Forward Thinking

For more information, please refer to ESA Core Behavioural Competencies guidebook

Education

You must be a university student, preferably in your final or second-to-last year of a university course at Master’s level and you need to remain enrolled at your University for the entire duration of the internship.

Additional requirements

The working languages of the Agency are English and French. A good knowledge of one of these is required. Knowledge of another Member State language would be an asset.

Knowledge and background in propulsion engineering and testing is an asset.